10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has given fans an injury scare ahead of his semifinal against Alexander Zverev on Friday (January 23). The Serb has called off his training sessions on the off day today (January 23rd) as he prepares for his important match.

According to reports from The Express, Djokovic was scheduled to take to Court 16 and have preparation sessions with his coach, Andy Murray. However, he has decided to preserve his body instead after experiencing injury concerns during his quarterfinal win over Carlos Alcaraz.

Djokovic took a medical timeout in the opening set against Alcaraz and had limitations in his movement. However, the Serb explained that the medications he took during the medical timeout worked, and his movement improved as the match progressed.

Djokovic is scheduled to play the morning session semifinal against Zverev on Friday. The Serb lost the morning session semifinal last year to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

Novak Djokovic battled through pain on Tuesday to defeat Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open. The win keeps his dream alive of securing a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

Alexander Zverev defeated Tommy Paul in four sets to reach his ninth Grand Slam semifinal. The German has dropped only two sets in the tournament so far and will be fresher than Djokovic. Since 2020, only Djokovic has reached more major semifinals, making this a significant clash. Zverev is still seeking his first Grand Slam title.

Djokovic leads Zverev 8-4 in their head-to-head record. They have played three times at Grand Slams, with the former World No.1 winning all three encounters. Their most recent major meeting was in the US Open semifinals in 2021.

Zverev, ranked World No. 2, has been in great form since returning from an ankle injury in 2022. He thrives in long rallies and will try to make the match physically demanding. Cooler temperatures of around 20°C on Friday could favor Djokovic, who is among the oldest semifinalists in Australian Open history.